John Varvatos Quotes

Everybody I knew, practically, was a journalist when I was a kid - my father, all of his friends. I never wanted to be like those people.

I'm never gonna step away from stand-up. I can't. That's what got me where I am, and that's also my muse. That's how I stay level-headed. That's what keeps me going.

Being the youngest, I was a bit of a daddy's girl and sought attention from an early age by singing. I don't know where I got my voice, but ours was always a musical house.

My childhood definitely revolved around my relationship with my brother. I wanted to be different. I wanted to find my way of being as intriguing and interesting as he was.

Writing is my salvation. If I didn't write, what would I do?

I had a quite unconventional childhood, in the sense that I traveled a lot and I went to 10 or 11 schools. I was completely confused academically, but wherever I went, I could paint. I painted an inordinate amount.

I grew up in a very large family in a very small house. I never slept alone until after I was married.

I started singing in church with my sister Maria when I was four, and I've been pretty much singing ever since. There's never been anything else for me to do.

I come from a very big family, and I grew up in restaurants.

I got into acting to avoid politics of any sort so I could remain in a fantasy world.

I was lucky enough to have an older brother who shared the splatter flicks with me, and I had parents who were cool and involved enough in my life to allow me to see them. I think my folks appreciated that I looked at these movies as a creative outlet... almost like magic shows, if you will.

I was the youngest of six kids, so yeah, feeding myself was important, but it's not like I was obsessed with food growing up.

I grew up thinking that singing was my security.

My childhood was influenced by the roles my father played in his movies. Whether Abraham Lincoln or Tom Joad in the 'Grapes of Wrath,' his characters communicated certain values which I try to carry with me to this day.

The majority of my family is Auburn fans, and I grew up watching Auburn football, and that's always who I've cheered for.

I think a lot of it had to do with, you know, I was always a daddy's girl. I was always wanting to please him, and I think he was pleased when he'd walk past my room and I was listening to those records.

I was an altar boy, with a very strict father. And movies were always my escape.

I grew up in the projects with four older brothers.

Honestly, in retrospect, it probably was a little easier being an adolescent and not having people immediately know that Hef was my dad.

The first thing that I put in my apartment was a piano. I bought one for $50, and it was a lifesaver because I just went home and played and played... I'm sure I annoyed everyone on the same floor.

I'm from a family of 20, so I'm one of the oldest guys, I grew up a lot having my brothers and sisters walk with me to school when I had to be the guy to watch them and all these things, so I kinda learned how to develop those leadership skills at a very early age.

My earliest sporting memory is probably going judo when I was about 6 or 7 years old. My dad and my brother did it for a couple of years when I was young, in Nigeria.

Music was the first art form I ever had.

Music has always been a part of my life, and it helps me a lot because it speaks for me when I can't speak for myself.

I'm the seventh child among eight siblings and have always had a gift for art.